Edoc'sil
by HardcoreBjorn
Summary: 40 years after the Great War, a new Rider enters Alagaesia. New/old characters. Reviews or criticism always welcome.
1. Chapter 1

The sun peeked through the burlap curtains in Rakesh's window. He brushed the sleep from his eyes and stretched. This "bed" gave him cramps every single night. It was really just a thin mattress laid on the floor. _Just another day in the life of Rakesh Andersson._ He could hear his mother bustling in the kitchen.

"Rakesh!" she exclaimed. "I need you to go to the docks and pick up some fish!"

_Not again. _Rakesh's mother owned and operated The Red Chestnut, in the dirtiest, grimiest part of Teirm. Rakesh coaxed himself out of bed, and caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection of the window. A mane of wild black hair framed his tanned face. He had a very diminutive frame considering his age, 17. His mother had always talked about his period of growth, until the last year. Rakesh had given up hope of gaining any more height. _Maybe I can be a jockey. Or a thief. _Thieves were the most common profession in his family. His father had been a thief along with his two older brothers.

"Rakesh!"

"I'm coming mother!"

He walked into the tavern, behind the bar. From behind, Rakesh could tell his mother had been beautiful once. She was slim, even in her late forties. Like Rakesh, she had jet black hair flowing down her back. She wore her usual work uniform of a red dress with a white apron over it. The unusual thing about her appearance was the bonnet that she wore at all times. As Miralda turned to greet her son, Rakesh saw a sliver of what made her wear that bonnet. Her pretty face was obscured by burn that ran from her ear to the opposite side of her mouth, disfiguring her cheek and jaw. Not for the first time, Rakesh wondered if he would ever hear the story of the burn.

"Good morning," she sighed. While sweeping the floor of the bar, she handed Rakesh a few small silver coins. "Hurry down to the docks now. We don't want to miss the boat."

Rakesh opened the door and stepped into the bright sunlight. The Red Chestnut was on the edge of the Ratgates, the poorest part of the city. After the Great War, soldiers returned home to find nothing waiting for them. They settled in the slums of the city, almost doubling the population of Teirm.

Dodging the homeless and the vendors, he made his way out of the Ratgates, feeling the cool ocean breeze on his face._ This is where I belong. When will mother let me earn my money on the sea. _He loved the ocean, and wanted to sail as a profession. _Maybe when I turn 19, but its not likely with mother. She's already-_

Suddenly a city guard slammed Rakesh into a wall. A procession was winding through the busy streets, heading towards the richest part of the city.

"Move along, scum!" the soldiers yelled. In the middle of the group, four soldiers carried a chest with four locks bigger than Rakesh's fist. The soldiers guarding the chest were the largest men he had ever seen. As soon as Rakesh turned away from the procession, he felt a pang in his mind. It was like a bell ringing. Rakesh dismissed it as a headache, and continued towards the docks.


	2. Chapter 2

Danlan stood tall and slender over his cargo. He stopped in Teirm once a month with his catch. His territory was on the northwest side of Sharktooth, a rocky island outside Teirm. Seeing Rakesh approach, Danlan broke into a grin,

"Rakesh, my friend," Danlan beamed. "Did you see the convoy with the egg?"

Only then did Rakesh understand what he had witnessed before. _That was a dragon's egg. And it touched my mind!_ _No, that couldn't have been a dragon. It must have just been a magician protecting the egg._

"I saw it. I wonder if it will hatch this time." They both laughed. This particular egg had been ferried from the elves, to the humans, to the dwarves, then to the Urgals. The cycle had been made 7 times without even a hint of a hatching.

"Forget about it," said Rakesh. "I need some fish."

He handed Danlan three silver coins, and received a basket with 12 fish, enough for a week's business at the Red Chestnut. He bid Danlan farewell and started on the walk back. His mind drifted to what Danlan had joked. Rakesh tried to recall the current Riders. _Of course there was Eragon, the leader of the Riders. Arya, an elf was the second. Murtaugh, who had been Galbatorix's apprentice had disappeared to the north. The first Urgal rider ever, a ram called Nar Gholvbek rides a dark brown dragon. _

Past that, Rakesh knew nothing more of the Riders. They were a mysterious bunch. Eragon and Murtaugh had not appeared in 40 years, since the end of the war. A consensus among people decreed that the next Rider would be a dwarf. They were the only race without one. Rakesh made it back to the Red Chestnut, walked in the door, and flinched at the sight.


End file.
